How to select the best Christmas lights?

Are you looking for the best lights to decorate your home and garden this Christmas but don't know where to start? Well, you aren't the only one. With so many lighting options available in the marketplace, choosing the right lighting solution for Christmas can become daunting and frustrating. This post intends to help you in selecting lights which will spruce up your decoration plans.

List down your lighting requirements and ask yourselves the following questions:

* Would incandescent bulbs or LED lights fit into my lighting scheme?

* Do I need multi-coloured or single coloured lights?

* What kind of bulb shape or style do I need for decoration?

* What are my energy consumption requirements?

Types of Christmas lights:

* Incandescent Lights: Incandescent lights consume more energy than efficient LED lights and bulbs. Their power consumption to brightness ratio is high. It does not make sense to go for incandescent lights especially for home and outdoor decoration. These lights are less costly than LED lights. If you want to save costs on lighting, you can choose incandescent lights over LED bulbs.

* LED lights: LED lights are energy efficient and are the preferred choice for any lighting requirement. LEDs have better longevity as compared to incandescent bulbs. You can re-use Christmas LED lights for several years and save money on lighting. These lights are bit costly than their incandescent counterparts but are worth putting in extra money.

* Mini String Lights: These are the smaller bulbs which have retained their popularity across several decades.

* Battery Operated Lights: These lights are powered by batteries and are mostly used in areas where there is no power source.

* Net Lights: These lights are mostly used for decorating Christmas trees and shrubs in the garden.

Pick the right color:

Choose white lights for the timeless classic look. You can opt for coloured lights along with white lights to create beautiful light designs. You can also decide a unique or retro theme for Christmas and choose light colours accordingly.

Light Safety Tips:

* You should never connect incandescent lights with LED bulbs.

* Make sure there is no overloading of electrical outlets and cords. Do not exceed the recommended number of connections for the extension cords.

* Avoid putting electrical cords under the rug or carpets.

* Avoid connecting different strands of lights on the same circuit.

* For outdoor decoration, use outdoor-rated lights.

Christmas lights with all the glitter, sparkle and brightness can inflate your energy bills. Be prudent and conserve energy by choosing automatic timers to switch on and off your lighting displays. Switch to LED Christmas lights and make sure you turn off the lights before going to bed.